Rail road car truck and members thereof

Abstract

A rail road freight car truck has a truck bolster and a pair of side frames, the truck bolster being mounted transversely relative to the side frames. The mounting interface between the ends of the axles and the sideframe pedestals allows lateral rocking motion of the sideframes in the manner of a swing motion truck. The lateral swinging motion is combined with a longitudinal self steering capability. The self steering capability may be obtained by use of a longitudinally oriented rocker that may tend to permit resistance to deflection that is proportional to the weight carried across the interface. The truck may have auxiliary centering elements mounted in the pedestal seats, and those auxiliary centering elements may be made of resilient elastomeric material. The truck may also have friction dampers that have a disinclination to stick-slip behavior. The friction dampers may be provided with brake linings, or similar features, on the face engaging the sideframe columns, on the slope face, or both. The friction dampers may operate to yield upward and downward friction forces that are not overly unequal. The friction dampers may be mounted in a four-cornered arrangement at each end of the truck bolster. The spring groups may include sub-groups of springs of different heights.

1. The combination of a bearing adapter and an auxiliary centering member for a railroad freight car truck, wherein:
 the bearing adapter has an underside for seating upon a round cylindrical casing of a railroad car truck wheelset bearing; 
 said bearing adapter is shaped to nest between a pair of opposed sideframe pedestal jaws of a sideframe pedestal of a railroad car sideframe; 
 said bearing adapter has an upwardly facing surface for engagement with a sideframe pedestal member of the railroad car sideframe; 
 said upwardly facing surface has a rolling contact surface for rolling contact engagement with the sideframe pedestal member; 
 said auxiliary centering member is shaped to seat between said bearing adapter and said sideframe pedestal member; 
 said auxiliary centering member is resilient; 
 said auxiliary centering member is operable, when installed, to act on said bearing adapter to urge said bearing adapter upwardly facing surface to a centered position relative to the sideframe pedestal member; and 
 as installed, rolling contact engagement of said upwardly facing surface of said bearing adapter with the sideframe pedestal member is unimpeded by said auxiliary centering member. 
 
     
     
       2. The combination of  claim 1  wherein said bearing adapter has a body having first and second parts, said first part including said upwardly facing surface; said first and second parts being made of metal, said first part having a greater hardness than said second part. 
     
     
       3. The combination of  claim 1  wherein said bearing adapter includes a metal body made of one of (a) iron; and (b) steel. 
     
     
       4. The combination of  claim 1  wherein said upwardly facing surface of said bearing adapter has the form of a rolling contact rocker having a radius of curvature, and, when said bearing adapter is installed in a mating sideframe pedestal, said radius of curvature permitting longitudinal rolling contact rocking of said bearing adapter lengthwise relative to the sideframe. 
     
     
       5. The combination of  claim 4  wherein said upwardly facing surface of said bearing adapter also has a curvature permitting cross-wise swinging of the sideframe relative to the bearing adapter. 
     
     
       6. The combination of  claim 1  wherein said upwardly facing surface of said bearing adapter has the form of a rolling contact rocker having a radius of curvature, and, when said bearing adapter is installed in a mating sideframe pedestal, said radius of curvature permits cross-wise rolling contact swinging of the sideframe relative to the bearing adapter. 
     
     
       7. The combination of  claim 1  wherein said auxiliary centering member is made of an elastomer. 
     
     
       8. The combination of  claim 7  wherein said auxiliary centering member has a first part and a second part; said first part overlies a portion of said upwardly facing surface of said bearing adapter, and said first part has an accommodation formed therein to permit unobstructed rolling contact of said rolling contact surface of said bearing adapter with a mating sideframe pedestal member. 
     
     
       9. The combination of  claim 7  wherein:
 said bearing adapter has first and second end walls that, on installation, face toward each of first and second pedestal thrust lugs of the pedestal jaws of the sideframe; 
 said auxiliary centering member has a first part and a second part; 
 said first part overlies at least a portion of said upwardly facing surface of said bearing adapter; and 
 said second part is shaped to depend from said first part over one of said end walls of said bearing adapter. 
 
     
     
       10. The combination of  claim 9  wherein said auxiliary centering member has a third part that depends from said first part over said second end wall of said bearing adapter. 
     
     
       11. The combination of  claim 1  wherein said auxiliary centering member is a first auxiliary centering member, and said combination also includes a second auxiliary centering member. 
     
     
       12. The combination of  claim 11  wherein:
 said bearing adapter has first and second end faces that, on installation, face toward each of the first and second pedestal thrust lugs of the pedestal jaws of the sideframe pedestal; 
 said first auxiliary centering member has a first part and a second part; 
 said first part of said first auxiliary centering member overlies at least a first portion of said upwardly facing surface of said bearing adapter, and said second part of said first auxiliary centering member overhangs said first end wall of said bearing adapter; 
 said second auxiliary centering member has a first part and a second part; 
 said first part of said second auxiliary centering member overlies at least a second portion of said upwardly facing surface of said bearing adapter; and 
 and said second part of said second auxiliary centering member overhangs said second end wall of said bearing adapter. 
 
     
     
       13. The combination of  claim 12  wherein:
 said bearing adapter has first and second end walls, each of said first and second end walls being bracketed by a pair of first and second corner abutments associated with that respective end wall; 
 each said end wall and its associated corner abutments defining a channel for nesting about a corresponding pedestal seat thrust lug of said sideframe pedestal; 
 said second part of said first auxiliary centering member seats in front of said first end wall between said first and second corner abutments associated therewith; and 
 said second part of said second auxiliary centering member seats in front of said second end wall of said bearing adapter between said first and second corner abutments associated therewith. 
 
     
     
       14. The combination of a bearing adapter and an auxiliary centering member for a railroad freight car truck, wherein:
 the bearing adapter has a body having an underside for seating upon a round cylindrical casing of a railroad car truck wheel set bearing; 
 said bearing adapter body has first and second end walls bracketed by associated first and second corner abutments, each said end wall and corner abutments associated therewith being shaped to seat nestingly about a sideframe pedestal jaws thrust block, such that when installed said bearing adapter is captured above the bearing and between a pair of opposed sideframe pedestal jaws of a sideframe pedestal of a railroad car sideframe; 
 said body having an upwardly facing surface for engagement with a sideframe pedestal member of the railroad car sideframe; 
 said upwardly facing surface having a rolling contact surface for rolling contact engagement with the sideframe pedestal member; 
 said auxiliary centering member being shaped to seat between said bearing adapter and said sideframe pedestal member; 
 said auxiliary centering member being resilient; and 
 said auxiliary centering member being operable, when installed, to urge said bearing adapter upwardly facing surface to a centered position relative to the sideframe pedestal member; and 
 when installed, rolling contact engagement of said upwardly facing surface of said bearing adapter with the sideframe pedestal member being unimpeded by said auxiliary centering member. 
 
     
     
       15. A wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly for a railroad car truck, said interface assembly comprising:
 a bearing adapter, a mating pedestal seat and a resilient member; 
 said bearing adapter having first and second ends formed for interlocking insertion between a pair of pedestal jaws of a sideframe pedestal of a railroad car sideframe; 
 said bearing adapter having a first rocking member; 
 said pedestal seat having a second rocking member; 
 said first and second rocking members being matingly engageable to permit rolling contact rocking therebetween in a longitudinal direction relative to the sideframe; 
 said resilient member being mounted between said bearing adapter and said pedestal seat; 
 said resilient member having a first end portion formed to engage said first end of said bearing adapter; and 
 said resilient member having a second portion, said second portion having an accommodation formed therein to permit mating engagement of said first and second rocking members. 
 
     
     
       16. The wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly of  claim 15  wherein said resilient member has first and second ends formed to seat between said bearing adapter and pedestal jaws of the sideframe. 
     
     
       17. The wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly of  claim 15  wherein:
 each of said first and second ends has an end wall bracketed by a pair of corner abutments, said end wall and corner abutments co-operating to define a channel permitting insertion of said bearing adapter between a pair of thrust lugs of said pedestal jaws of said sideframe pedestal; 
 said resilient member has a second end portion engageable with said second end of said bearing adapter for interposition between said second end of said bearing adapter and a second pedestal jaw thrust lug; 
 said second portion of said resilient member is a medial portion lying between said first and second end portions; and 
 said medial portion has said accommodation formed therein to permit mating rocking engagement of said first and second rocking members. 
 
     
     
       18. The wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly of  claim 15  wherein said bearing adapter has a body for seating upon a bearing of a rail road truck wheelset, and said first rocking member is mounted to said body, said first rocking member having a rocking surface, said rocking surface facing away from said body when said first rocking member is mounted to said body, and said first rocking member being made of a different material from said body. 
     
     
       19. The wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly of  claim 18  wherein said first rocking member is an insert removably seated on said body of said bearing adapter. 
     
     
       20. The wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly of  claim 19  wherein said rocking surface of said first rocking member is a portion of a sphere. 
     
     
       21. The wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly of  claim 15  wherein:
 said resilient member is a first resilient member, and said assembly includes a second resilient member; 
 said second resilient member being mounted between said bearing adapter and said pedestal seat; 
 said second resilient member having a first portion formed to engage said second end of said bearing adapter; and 
 said second resilient member having a second portion, said second portion having an accommodation formed therein to permit mating engagement of said first and second rocking members. 
 
     
     
       22. The wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly of  claim 21  wherein said bearing adapter has a body for seating upon a bearing of a rail road car truck wheelset, said first rocking member is an insert mounted to said body, said insert is a disc having a spherically arcuate upper surface, and said insert nests between said second portions of said first and second resilient members. 
     
     
       23. A railroad freight car truck having wheelsets mounted in a pair of sideframes, said sideframes having pedestals for receiving said wheelsets, said pedestals having pedestal jaws, said jaws including sideframe pedestal jaw thrust blocks, said truck having wheelset-to-sideframe interface assemblies according to  claim 15  mounted in said sideframe pedestals, said bearing adapters being mounted between said jaws, said sideframe pedestals having respective ones of said sideframe pedestal members rockingly co-operable with said bearing adapters, and said truck having ones of said resilient members mounted intermediate said jaws and said bearing adapters for urging said bearing adapters to a centered position relative to the respective pedestal seats. 
     
     
       24. The wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly of  claim 15  wherein said resilient member is a resilient pad having a second end portion for engaging a second end of the bearing adapter, and said second portion is a medial portion of said pad located between said first and second end portions, said medial portion being formed to accommodate mating engagement of the rocking members. 
     
     
       25. The wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly of  claim 15  wherein said assembly is a wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly kit. 
     
     
       26. The wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly of  claim 25  wherein said mating pedestal seat has a depth of section of greater than ½ inches. 
     
     
       27. The wheelset-to-sideframe interface assembly of  claim 15  wherein said bearing adapter has a body for seating upon a bearing of a rail road truck wheelset, and said first rocking member is mountable to said body, said first rocking member has a rocking surface, said rocking surface facing away from said body when said first rocking member is mounted to said body, and said first rocking member being made of a different material from said body. 
     
     
       28. The bearing adapter of  claim 27  wherein said first rocking surface has both a lateral curvature and a longitudinal curvature. 
     
     
       29. The bearing adapter of  claim 15  wherein said first rocking surface has both a lateral curvature and a longitudinal curvature. 
     
     
       30. The bearing adapter of  claim 15  wherein said first rocking surface is formed on a spherical arc.